Where’s My Refund: IRS Web Tool Down, Deactivated

After reported glitches with the web tool resulted in some tax filers being told that there was no information regarding their tax refunds, the IRS deactivated the Where's My Refund utility and posted this notice:

Update: We are aware that some taxpayers who have filed electronically and received an acknowledgement from the IRS are concerned when they visit Where's My Refund and are told that we have no information regarding their return. This is a temporary situation, and we expect to resolve the matter in a few days. At that time, taxpayers will be able to get an expected refund date when they visit Where's My Refund.

If a taxpayer received an acknowledgment message that their e-filed tax return has been received, they can be assured that the IRS has the tax return even though Where's My Refund does not reflect that. Taxpayers should not call the IRS unless specifically directed by Where's My Refund, as there is no new information to give them.

We expect the vast majority of tax refunds to continue to be issued within the historical range of 10 to 21 days. The IRS is taking steps to update information so that Where's My Refund has current information. The IRS apologizes for any inconvenience and will provide updated information as soon as possible.

An earlier glitch in the system resulted in people receiving tax refunds a week later than expected, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. This only affected those who filed their taxes electronically between Jan. 17 and Jan. 25 and chose the direct deposit option for their refunds.

The IRS sent out an alert Jan. 26, saying the delay for some refunds relates to fine-tuning IRS systems to adjust for new safeguards put in place this tax season to provide stronger protection against refund fraud.

It appears there's still a few more bugs to work out in the system.